But Randles didn't look rattled as he cleanly blasted a game-winning 27-yard field goal straight through the uprights with no time left as the Lancers (2-0) stunned visiting Rocky Hill (1-1) for a come-from-behind 17-14 victory in a CCC Division III game played Sept. 25.
"It's great to have a kid like Nick there," said Eastern coach Mike Archangelo of his kicker. "Nick took a lot of lessons this past summer [and] really worked on his kicking game. I felt pretty confident he was going to make that kick."
Down 14-0 at halftime, Eastern staged a furious rally and the defense made all the key stops. The Lancers posted two touchdowns scores and patiently played a brilliant clock game over the last seven minutes of play to set up the game winning kick.
"It was a good game," said Rocky Hill coach Dave Coyne. "I thought we played a pretty good first-half. In the second-half, we gave them a blocked punt, we didn't' block [Brandon Lopez] and we fumbled the ball to give Eastern two short drives for touchdowns."
But, it wasn't an easy finish as Eastern got as close as Rocky Hill's seven yard-line in the final minute before being turned away, looking at a fourth-and-six with just two seconds left.
Turning to Randles, Rocky Hill called multiple timeouts to ice the kicker.
Even as Randles felt the pressure, it was a solid set-up and he drilled the ball cleanly to net three points and the victory.
"It was nerve-racking," said Randles. "They iced me three times but I didn't worry about it. I worked hard all summer with my kicking coach and just battled through and came through in the end to win the game."
While Eastern struggled in the first-half, Rocky Hill kept Eastern's defense chasing running back Mike Dance (11 carries, 122 yards).
After Eastern's first drive of the game ended in an interception, Dance took the Terriers first rush out and down the right side of the field for a 67-yard touchdown jaunt to give Rocky Hill a 7-0 edge with 6:30 left in the period.
Rocky Hill's defense kept Eastern's wing in check as Dance continued to pound the Lancers defensively going into the second period up seven.
Dance grabbed a 33-yard toss from quarterback Bryan MacDonald as his touchdown reception made it 14-0 with 9:05 left in the second frame.
"I'd like to say I'm a genius at halftime but the reality is, I told the kids that they have to play with heart," said Archangelo. "We came out and tweaked a few things here and there. We came out, played with heart, played as a group (and) came out and we did what we needed to do."
The Lancers looked like a different team in the third period and after Rocky Hill stalled on its 47 yard-line, Eastern's Dylan Oakes blocked a punt by kicker Joey Cavallaro to set up on the Terriers 30 yard-line.
That energy fueled the Lancers and led to a straight-up-the-middle, four-yard touchdown stroll by Lopez to get Eastern within seven at 14-7 with 6:31 remaining in the third stanza.
"Eastern was into it and they were psyched," said Coyne. "The momentum went on to their side."
With Eastern's defense now keying in on Dance, Rocky Hill's offense moved at a crawl.
The Lancers knotted the game at the third-period buzzer as quarterback Matt Yopp (7-for-14, 101 yards) dashed four yards to the end zone as the game suddenly became a 14-14 stalemate with 12 more minutes to play.
After both teams went three-and-out to start the final period, Rocky Hill once again had control of the ball but a key interception by Corey White - his second pick of the season - set up Eastern at the Terriers' 35 yard-line with 6:47 left to play.
"We had some guys out of alignment in the first-half," said Archangelo. "We had to correct a few mistakes here and there. Our linebackers weren't flowing the way we wanted them to flow and filling holes."
The Lancers running game ate up large chunks of clock and when Eastern needed a key first down, a 15-yard sprint by Lopez and two key rushes by Tyrell Holmes (six carries, 45 yards) kept the chains moving.
And with two seconds left on the clock, Randles ended the contest with an improbable Eastern comeback.